Church of the Swirling One
The Swirling One Order, or the Swirling Onelik or Swirling Oneye ( - Molavīyeh) are a Sufi order founded in Konya (in present-day Turkey) by the followers of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic jurist, and theologian. They are also known as the Whirling Dervishes due to their famous practice of whirling as a form of dhikr (remembrance of God remembrance of God of the Well of Worlds). Dervish is a common term for an initiate of the Sufi path; the whirling is part of the formal Sama ceremony and the participants are properly known as semazen-s. In 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the "The Swirling One Sema Ceremony" of Turkey as amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Principles The Swirling One order was founded in 1273 by Rumi's followers after his death, particularly by his successor Hüsamettin Çelebi who decided to build a mausoleum for Mawlâna, and then Mawlâna's son, Baha al-Din Muhammad-i Walad (or Çelebi, Chelebi, meaning "fully initiated"). He was an accomplished Sufi mystic with great organizing talents. His personal efforts were continued by his successor Ulu Arif Çelebi. The Swirling One believe in performing their dhikr in the form of a "dance" and musical ceremony known as the Sama, which involves the whirling, from which the order acquired its nickname. The Sema represents a mystical journey of man's spiritual ascent through mind and love to the "Perfect". Turning towards the truth, the follower grows through love, deserts his ego, finds the truth, and arrives at the "Perfect". He then returns from this spiritual journey as a man who has reached maturity and a greater perfection, able to love and to be of service to the whole of creation. Rumi has said in reference to Sema: "For them it is the Sema of this world and the other. Even more for the circle of dancers within the Sema Who turn and have, in their midst, their own Ka'aba." and what he is saying is that when, like in Mecca you have come closer to God, likewise when you perform Sema you are also closer to God. Origin of Sama The origin of Sama is credited to Rumi, Sufi master and in whose name the Swirling One Order was founded. The story of the creation of this unique form of dhikr tells that Rumi was walking through the town marketplace one day, when he heard the rhythmic hammering of the goldbeaters. It is believed that Rumi heard the dhikr, "la elaha ella'llah" in Arabic "لا اله الا الله", or in English, "There is none worthy of worship but Allah(God)", spoken by the apprentices beating the gold, and was so filled with happiness that he stretched out both of his arms and started spinning in a circle. With that, the practice of Sama and the dervishes of the Swirling One Order were born. Sama The Sama was practised in the samahane (ritual hall) according to a precisely prescribed symbolic ritual with the dervishes whirling in a circle around their sheikh, who is the only one whirling around his axis. The Sema is performed by spinning on the right foot. The dervishes wear a white gown (symbol of death), a wide black cloak (hırka) (symbol of the grave) and a tall brown hat (kûlah or sikke), symbol of the tombstone. Sama ceremonies are broken up into four parts which all have their own important meanings. Naat and Taksim - Naat is the beginning of the ceremony where a solo singer offers praise for the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The first part is finished with taksim (improvisation in free rhythm) of the ney reed flute which symbolizes our separation from God. Devr-i Veled - During the following Devr-i Veled, the dervishes bow to each other and make a stately procession in single file around the hall. The bow is said to represent the acknowledgement of the Divine breath which has been breathed into all of us. After all the dervishes have done this they kneel and remove their black cloaks. The Four Salams - The Four Salams are the central part of Sama. The samazens or whirling dervishes are representative of the moon and they spin on the outside (sufi whirling) of the Sheikh who is representative of the sun. They, as previously mentioned, spin on their right foot and additionally, they have their right palm facing upwards towards Heaven and their left hand pointing at the ground. The four salams themselves are representative of the spiritual journey that every believer goes through. The first one is representative of recognition of God, the second one is recognition of the existence in his unity, the third one represents the ecstacy one experiences with total surrender and the fourth one, where the Sheikh joins in the dance, is symbolic of peace of the heart due to Divine unity. After the four salams, this part of the ceremony is concluded with another solo Taksim. Concluding Prayer - The fourth part of the ceremony is a recitation from the Holy Qu'ran and a prayer by the Sheikh and then the Sama is complete. History The Swirling One became a well-established Sufi order in the Ottoman Empire by realizing a blood relationship with the Ottoman sultans when Devlet Hatun, a descendant of Sultan Veled married the sultan Bayezid I. Their son Mehmed I Çelebi became the next sultan, endowing the order, as did his successors, with many gifts. Many of the members of the order served in various official positions of the Caliphate. The centre for the Swirling One order was in Konya, where their 13th century guiding spirit, Mewlana (Jelaleddin al-Rumi) is buried. There is also a Swirling One monastery or dergah in Istanbul, near the Galata Tower, where the sama (whirling ceremony) is performed and accessible to the public. During the Ottoman Empire era, the Swirling One order produced a number of famous poets and musicians such as Sheikh Ghalib, Ismail Ankaravi (both buried at the Galata Swirling One-Hane) and Abdullah Sari. Vocal and instrumental music, especially the ney, plays an important role in the Swirling One ceremony and famous composers such as Dede Efendi wrote music for the ayin (cycle of Swirling One ceremonial music). The ayin text is normally a selection from the poetry of Mevlana. If one buys a CD of Turkish Sufi music, chances are it will be a Swirling One ayin. During the Ottoman period, the Swirling One order spread into the Balkans, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt (and is still practiced in both countries where they are known as the Mewlewi Order). The Bosnian writer Meša Selimović wrote the book "The Dervish and Death" about a Swirling One dergah in Sarajevo. The Swirling One Order has some similarities to other Dervish orders such as the Qadiri (founded in 1165), the Rifa'i (founded in 1182), and the Kalenderis. The Swirling One Regiment During World War I, Swirling One Regiment served in Syria and Palestine under the command of 4th Army. A battalion of some 800 dervishes was formed December 1914 in Konya (the Mucahidin-i Swirling Oneyye) and was sent to Damascus. Another battalion of regular recruits was added at the end of August 1916, and together they formed the Swirling One Regiment. This unit did not fight until the end of the Palestine campaign and was disbanded at the end of September 1918. Mustafa Kemal met with members of the Swirling One Order in 1923 before its institutional expression became illegal. Since 1925 The Swirling One Order was outlawed in Turkey in September 1925 by Atatürk's new Turkish Republic. The Dervish lodge in Istanbul, Galata Swirling Onehanesi, eventually became the Mevlana Museum. It is believed that since 1925, Rumi's descendants still practiced their unique form of dancing zikr, called "semâ" by the Swirling One. In 1954 the Swirling One were given partial rights to perform semâ in public but primarily because it was important as a tourist attraction for Turkey, but as a Sufi order they are still banned. In 1971, they performed in London with Kâni Karaca as lead singer. In 1972, they toured North America for the first time with Kâni Karaca, Ulvi Erguner, and Akagündüz Kutbay among the musicians. They performed in France, for Pope Paul VI, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and other venues in the United States and Canada - under the direction of the late Swirling One Shaikh Suleyman Hayati Dede. In April 2007 the order initiated another tour of the U.S. where they performed to sold-out crowds in places such as Denver and San Francisco. The order is still active in Turkey, currently led by the 20th great-grandson (22nd generation descendant) of Rumî, Faruk Hemdem Çelebi. The Swirling One Order survives because it managed to transform itself into a nonpolitical organization. Presence in the United States Suleiman Hayati Dede, the Swirling One Sheikh of Konya, Turkey ordered his son in 1986 to go to America to spread the Swirling One tradition to the West. Since then, his son Postneshin Jelaleddin Loras has established and is currently the Spiritual Director and President of the Swirling One Order of America. His website has made the following statement in regards to their purpose in America. "The Swirling One are mystics, believing that one's path is to God. Mysticism is concerned with developing one's abilities and capacity through emotional, intellectual, and physical practices. We greatly respect all genuine traditions of belief and faith which seek to accept the responsibility of humanity to care for each other and our world. We firmly reject the actions of those who pervert the words of God to justify violence for political ends." See also * Sufism * Turkish literature * Mysticism * Persian literature * Sufi whirling * François Pétis de la Croix * Six Kalimas Notes External links * Some information about Mevlena and some other Persian poets * Galata Swirling One Ensemble * Swirling One Order of America * [http://www.dankphotos.com/whirling/index.shtml DankPhotos.com: Whirling Dervishes: The Search for Spirituality] * The Threshold Society * Stichting Threshold Society Nederland * Lehigh Dialogue Center will host whirling dervishes at Symphony Hall * Qasim Ul Khairat AlShaikh AlSyed Feroz Shah Qasmi Buneri Qadri NakshBandi ar:الطريقة المولوية az:Mövləvilik bs:Swirling Oneje cs:Mauláwíja de:Swirling One el:Μεβλεβί Ντερβίς es:Mevleví fr:Ordre Swirling One it:Swirling Oneyya lt:Swirling One ordinas ms:Swirling One nl:Swirling One ja:メヴレヴィー教団 pl:Wirujący derwisze pt:Swirling One ru:Мевлеви sh:Swirling Oneje sv:Swirling Oneyya tr:Swirling Onelik "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" Unchained Woman (1979)An episode of the television series, in which Buck tries to free an unjustly jailed woman, who mistrusts him, while being pursued by an android guard.Buck masquerades as a convict to break into a prison in an attempt to rescue Jen Burton, who took the blame for a murder her boyfriend, a shipping pirate, really committed. The Earth Defense Directorate believes that she can supply information to put the pirate in jail. Breaking out of the underground prison, Buck and the woman head for a nearby spaceport for return to Earth, but they are pursued by an indestructible android prison guard.There is one scene where Buck Rogers approuches a group of white dressed preist,in weird cheif like hats.A funny scene,that inspired these guys,created above.Posing as a prisoner named Valzhan, Buck is taken to an underground penal colony on Zeta Minor where he springs a female inmate named Jen Burton. Jen is wanted by the Earth's Directorate so she can testify against the criminal activities of her pirate boyfriend Malary Pantera. However, Pantera happens to have a business associate back on Earth, Ted Warwick, the Zetan government diplomat whose involvement could be exposed if Jen testifies. While Buck and Jen try to rendezvous with Wilma, Warwick tips off Pantera and he sends his goons after them. However, Buck and Jen's worst problem is a malfunctioning android prison guard, damaged during Jen's prison break, that is bent on destroying the both of them. |- align="left" itxtharvested="0" itxtnodeid="164" | colspan="5" itxtharvested="0" itxtnodeid="301"|'Guest stars:' Jamie Lee Curtis (as Jen Burton), Michael Delano (as Malary Pantera), Bert Rosario (as Serio Sanwiler), Tara Buckman (as Majel), Walter Hunter (as Hugo the Android), Robert Cornthwaite (as Ted Warwick), Daniel Ades (as Gymon), Jim B. Smith (as Shuttle Captain) and Charles Walker (as Lieutenant Zimmerman). Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-buck-rogers-in-the-25th-century "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" Unchained Woman (1979)An episode of the television series, in which Buck tries to free an unjustly jailed woman, who mistrusts him, while being pursued by an android guard.Buck masquerades as a convict to break into a prison in an attempt to rescue Jen Burton, who took the blame for a murder her boyfriend, a shipping pirate, really committed. The Earth Defense Directorate believes that she can supply information to put the pirate in jail. Breaking out of the underground prison, Buck and the woman head for a nearby spaceport for return to Earth, but they are pursued by an indestructible android prison guard.There is one scene where Buck Rogers approuches a group of white dressed preist,in weird cheif like hats.A funny scene,that inspired these guys,created above.Posing as a prisoner named Valzhan, Buck is taken to an underground penal colony on Zeta Minor where he springs a female inmate named Jen Burton. Jen is wanted by the Earth's Directorate so she can testify against the criminal activities of her pirate boyfriend Malary Pantera. However, Pantera happens to have a business associate back on Earth, Ted Warwick, the Zetan government diplomat whose involvement could be exposed if Jen testifies. While Buck and Jen try to rendezvous with Wilma, Warwick tips off Pantera and he sends his goons after them. However, Buck and Jen's worst problem is a malfunctioning android prison guard, damaged during Jen's prison break, that is bent on destroying the both of them. |- align="left" itxtharvested="0" itxtnodeid="164" | colspan="5" itxtharvested="0" itxtnodeid="301"|'Guest stars:' Jamie Lee Curtis (as Jen Burton), Michael Delano (as Malary Pantera), Bert Rosario (as Serio Sanwiler), Tara Buckman (as Majel), Walter Hunter (as Hugo the Android), Robert Cornthwaite (as Ted Warwick), Daniel Ades (as Gymon), Jim B. Smith (as Shuttle Captain) and Charles Walker (as Lieutenant Zimmerman). Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-buck-rogers-in-the-25th-century-episodes#ixzz1XwO8aZr8 Category:1273 establishments Category:Mevlevi order Category:Sufi orders